Volume 12 Issue 7, July 2017

The first NanoCar Race was an opportunity to see how far we have come in manipulating single molecules. As the team with the fastest molecule in this race, we share the synthetic challenges to building a fast nanocar and the experimental approach needed for rapid translation across a surface.

Public perceptions of nanotechnology are shaped by sound in surprising ways. Our analysis of the audiovisual techniques employed by nanotechnology stakeholders shows that well-chosen sounds can help to win public trust, create value and convey the weird reality of objects on the nanoscale.

Chris Toumey illustrates how different groups of people involved with nanotechnology have different views on the history of the field and feel differently about its importance.

The electronic transport across a head-to-head ferroelectric domain wall reveals a signature of quantum tunnelling assisted by confined, quantum-well-like states.

A versatile nanovaccine platform is based on a synthetic nanoparticle that not only acts as an antigen carrier but also stimulates the STING pathway.

Neutrophils loaded with cationic liposomal paclitaxel migrate across the blood/brain barrier to deliver chemotherapeutic nanoparticles in the inflamed post-surgical tumour margin.

This Review examines the different building materials for membrane nanopores—proteins, peptides, synthetic organic molecules, and DNA—and explores the influence of the building material on pore structure, dynamics, function, and application.

Energy decay measurements in nanomechanical graphene resonators reveal that the flow of energy takes different paths during the decay.

The demonstration of energy transfer from hotspots of electroluminescent silver nanoparticles to a two-dimensional crystal overlayer of a transition-metal dichalcogenide provides a tunable, sub-diffraction, electrically driven light source.

Amyloid fibrils from food-grade proteins deliver nanostructured bioavailable iron without cytotoxicity or pathological side effects.

STING-activating nanoparticle vaccines achieve robust activation of tumour-specific T cells for cancer immunotherapy.

The electron gas confined onto a charged head-to-head domain wall in the ultrathin ferroelectric tunnel layer of a multiferroic tunnel junction drives the overall transport processes through the whole device.

An optical non-linearity at the single-photon level is reported with a semiconductor quantum dot–cavity device. The device performs as an efficient single-photon filter that strongly suppresses the multiphoton components of incident coherent pulses.

Position sensitive, non-local and large-area photodetection can be achieved in graphene phototransistors on undoped semiconductor substrates.

Optical waveguides patterned with gradient metasurfaces have compact footprints and broad wavelengths of operation thanks to tight control of the scattered light.

Suspended electrodes integrated into a scalable microfluidic device can be used for electrical measurements in large numbers of small organisms.

Neutrophils carrying drug-containing liposomes can suppress recurrence of brain tumours after surgical removal of the tumour.

Nanoparticles can be used as ligand-multimerization platforms to activate specific cellular receptors in vivo.

Rémy Pawlak and Tobias Meier discuss how they got involved in the first international NanoCar Race and their impressions from this experience.